When that extra stressor is coming down with COVID-19, the stress can be unimaginable. 

That is what junior Caitlynne Shadle and many other Simpson students have been enduring.   

“I was freaking out,” Shadle said. “Knowing I had to tell all of my roommates, everyone, I came into close contact with, my professors, my roommates, my boyfriend; it was very scary because there are people who don’t know that they have underlying health conditions until they get something like this and they become really sick.”

Although it is not as common for younger people to become deathly ill from the virus, symptoms still need to be monitored closely, especially for athletes like Shadle.  

“I woke up feeling crappy, kind of like I had the flu almost, and I had chills and body aches and a headache and unbelievably freezing. I also had a slight cough,” Shadle said. “After I get out of quarantine, they have what they call a return to play protocol. A run-up and down the basketball court should not make me tired, but if I am still being affected from COVID that would wear you out. They put you through a step-by-step program to get you back in.”  

Another large concern for students who have to enter quarantine has been missing class time. For Spencer Anderson, another Simpson student who has tested positive, this was the biggest concern. 

“Getting the diagnosis was stressful because I didn’t know how the process would be for school and how long I would have to be gone for,” Anderson said. “I wasn’t even worried about being sick at all, I was just worried about the time I’d be away from school.” 

While both Anderson and Shadle said that they were able to keep up with their classes while in quarantine, it was not always easy for them.   

“I have lost a lot of motivation to do my schoolwork. When you are not actively around professors and other students… you just lose motivation,” Shadle said. “I still get on Zoom, but I get on my phone when I’m on, and I still do my assignments, but they are half effort.”    

Shadle gives more hope to a stressful situation.   

“I know a lot of students who even haven’t had COVID are stressed to the max; this semester has been tough on anyone, so when I was diagnosed, I was like ‘it is scary, but I get time to myself to reenergize,’” Shadle said.